Madagascar Wood-Rail (Mentocrex kioloides)

Behaviour This species is a sedentary endemic of Madagascar (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). It breeds May-June, or November (del Hoyo et al. 1996), and normally forages in pairs (del Hoyo et al. 1996), or less frequently alone (Langrand 1990). Very little is known about this species social organisation or aggregatory behaviour (Langrand 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Habitat The species shows a preference for forest habitats characterised by open understoreys and substrates of leaf-litter (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). It frequents water courses and reedy or papyrus-grown edges of ponds and marshes within primary and adjoining secondary rainforest with sparse herbaceous ground-cover (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It has also recently been observed in dry deciduous forest established on a karst subtratum (Langrand 1990). Diet Its diet is little known (Langrand 1990), but foods such as insects, amphibians and seeds have been recorded (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Breeding site The nest is a bowl of grass and leaves placed in a bush or a tangle of creepers (lianas) 2-3 m above the ground (del Hoyo et al. 1996).